


feels like a coming of age

by eggosandxmen



Series: reflections [2]
Category: Mabel (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, Visions, Visions of Canon, small town
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-11
Updated: 2020-09-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:07:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26414656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eggosandxmen/pseuds/eggosandxmen
Summary: Anna keeps seeing things throughout the little town she’s lived in her whole life. Keeps seeing things among the people she’s known her whole life.What is her whole life?Can you hear it, Anna? Can you hear it?
Relationships: Anna Limon/Mabel Martin, Janet Kirk/Ekaterina Roskova, Thomas & Jack Madrigal, Veratrine/Luna Thorne
Series: reflections [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1906138
Kudos: 3





	feels like a coming of age

Anna parks the car at the abandoned old space next to the convenience store, and Janet’s the first out the door, pulling Ekaterina along with excited shouting about trying seven different sodas at once. Veratrine and Luna go the other way, down towards the park, sneakers scuffing the pavement and Vera’s arm around Luna’s shoulders. 

A train’s horn sounds in the distance as Anna finally gets out of the car after wrapping her jacket around Mabel, fast asleep in the passenger seat. The air smells like the end of summer, like sweat and the ice cream sold across the street. Smiling, Anna turns to walk into the convenience store. Ekaterina and Janet are waiting for her at the door.

A flash of pain cracks across her head as she looks at her friends, Ekaterina suddenly much too skinny-- almost malnourished-- with tattoos lining her arms and scars on her wrists, wearing a torn pink dress. Janet’s got bramble-thorn scratches on her face that hadn’t been there when she’d gotten out of the car and an old tape recorder in her hand, wearing her usual outfit but a shirt Anna’s never seen before. They both look older.

The convenience store behind them is a gaping black hole.

The pain recedes and Anna blinks. Her friends are back to normal, staring at her worriedly.

“Are you alright?” Ekaterina asks, in her soft Russian accent, putting her hand on Anna’s arm.

“Fine. Let’s go, Mabel said she wanted a monster before she fell asleep.”

Janet shrugs, holds the door open for her girlfriend but not for Anna, because she’s terrible like that, and Anna laughs, and everything’s fine. Everything’s fine.

Mabel Martin wakes up in the car with her eyes a few shades greener than usual. Anna notices, when she’s passing her her soda and kissing her forehead when they get to her father’s house, but doesn’t say anything.

Janet takes her place in the driver’s seat and Ekaterina climbs into the driver’s seat, waving them off as Janet tears out the driveway and down the road at least fifteen miles over the speed limit.

Her Uncle Jack and Mabel’s father are at the door when Anna walks her up, Jack grinning at Anna and him and Thomas proceeding to pretend to make out with each other in order to tease their favorite descendants.

“You’re both children,” Anna sighs, and Thomas laughs, pulling Mabel into a hug and then Anna. 

“Are you staying over?” he asks.

“I’ll call Mona and Mom,” Anna responds, pulling out her phone. Her mom picks up, and Jack steals her phone immediately, working his magic to get Anna the ability to stay over for the night.

Thomas got full custody of his daughter when she turned sixteen, which was when Anna had finally met her. She doesn’t talk to Anna about what happens when she was at her grandmother’s house, but Anna never pushes. Her mother and uncle had known Mabel’s dad since childhood. Anna was comfortable with the kind half of Mabel’s family.

Jack passes the phone back so Anna can listen to Vera tell her she’s going on a date with Luna that night and so Mona can remind her not to do anything stupid.

The incident earlier has almost left Anna’s mind by the time her sisters hang up. She’s about to grab a slice of pizza from the kitchen, weaving around Thomas, when the flash of pain hits again.

When she looks up, Thomas’s face is torn up as if by knives, half scarred over and wearing his old sheepskin jacket. Jack has vines wrapped around his entire body, no pupils to interrupt the whites of his eyes. They’re both staring at her, unblinking. Thomas is talking— getoutgetoutgetoutget—

“Anna?” someone asks. It’s Mabel. She’s got a hand on Anna’s shoulder blade and her other arm hooked around Anna’s stomach— she’s doubled over.

“I’m fine.”

Mabel nods slowly. “Let’s go up to my room. Hey, Dad, did you get the silver water?”

“‘Course.” Thomas passes it over to her and she smiles, taking two slices of pizza and balancing the plate and bottle on one arm so she can hold Anna’s hand. Anna lets herself be pulled upstairs.

Mabel’s room is darkened with blackout curtains, pages from books and journals hung up on the wall. The window is open to the backyard next to her bed, and Anna all but collapses on it, Mabel busying herself by turning on the radio and eventually sitting down next to Anna’s shoulder, passing her a piece of pizza and settling into sitting criss cross while she eats her own.

“I’m having visions,” Anna says eventually. No bullshit.

“Of what?” Mabel asks, lying down next to her so her head is tucked on Anna’s ribcage. Anna puts an arm around her shoulders.

“Our friends— your dad, my uncle, just— different. Ekaterina was starving and covered in tattoos, your dad was covered in knife marks, Uncle Jack was this— mess of vines and blood…”

“Sounds creepy,” Mabel says. “What do you see when you look at me?”

“I don’t know,” Anna says honestly. “I haven’t seen you yet.”

Mabel presses herself a little closer to Anna, and various unspoken things pass between them without either of them having to think about it. Mabel takes one of Anna’s hands and squeezes it three times. 

(The conversation-that-isn’t goes something like this: I’m scared I know what if I am something monstrous I’ll still love you what if I’m going crazy I’ll be with you I love you I love you too I love you I love you too.)

Mabel looks over at Anna and cracks a smile. “‘Katerina told me Janet’s gonna kiss her tonight.”

“Only took six months,” Anna laughs. “We weren’t that bad.”

“No, once you hit me with your skateboard, I was pretty much in love.”

Anna grabs a pillow and whacks her while Mabel cackles.

**Author's Note:**

> I like dumb alternative universes a lot. Edited to say screw the Martin family who isn’t Mabel.


End file.
